Foreign investments in Thailand exceeded 98 billion baht over the past 11 months, with Japan ranking first.
The Director-General of the Department of Business Development Oramon Sapthaweetham reported that during the first 11 months of 2023, a total of 612 foreign businesses were granted permission to invest and conduct business activities in Thailand. The total investment reached 98.28 billion baht, providing employment for 6,086 Thai people.
Foreign investors’ top 5 countries for investment in Thailand during the first 11 months of the year 2566 are as follows:
1.Japan: 129 businesses, accounting for 21% of the total number of foreign businesses in Thailand. These businesses invested 30.1 billion baht in various sectors, including the petroleum exploration service within the surveyed areas in the Gulf of Thailand, manufacturing of vehicle components, and engineering and technical services such as analysis and processing of greenhouse gas data in various business activities.
2.Singapore: 95 businesses, representing 16% of the total number of foreign businesses in Thailand. They invested 22.2 billion baht in businesses such as life and property insurance agencies, hotel industry, and electronic financial services.
3.United States: 95 businesses, accounting for 16% of the total number of foreign businesses in Thailand. Their investment amounted to 4.2 billion baht and covered services related to software rights utilization, design, development, and system installation of software programs and applications used for business operations. Additionally, they provided services in the banking and financial sectors, acted as agents for procurement, and distributed various types of vehicles, including electric cars.
- China: 56 businesses, constituting 9% of the total number of foreign businesses in Thailand. They invested 15.8 billion baht in construction-related services, including the installation and testing of natural gas pipelines and control stations, maintenance of petroleum drilling pits on the shore, and contract manufacturing of audiovisual and network devices.
- Hong Kong: 26 businesses, accounting for 4% of the total number of foreign businesses in Thailand. These businesses invested 5.8 billion baht in various sectors, including maintenance and repair services for electric cars, contract manufacturing of seamless steel pipes, and online platform-based services for booking airline tickets.
It can be considered that the involvement of foreigners in business in Thailand during the recent period has contributed to the transfer of specialized technological knowledge from the investing countries to the Thai people. This includes knowledge related to petroleum drilling, design of electrical and electronic systems in railway projects, natural gas pipeline systems on land, and maintenance and care techniques for components, tools, and equipment used in power plant maintenance. (TNA)
